Think of Me
by jessoyouknow
Summary: Ever since Kaho disappeared, Len's been taking care of their 3-year old daughter. Now, 2 years later, a new music teacher shows up at their daughter's pre-school. What's even more strange is that she looks so familiar, his daughter calls her "Mommy."
1. Chapter 1

I was actually inspired to write this story after listening to a beautiful violin rendition of Phantom of the Opera's Think of Me, hence the title. I figured it seemed appropriate. Oh, and did I mention that I SUPER DIDUPER LOVE THIS ANIME? Well, I do. And I'm pretty sure you do too! So, here is my first ever fanfic. Enjoy!

Summary: Len and Kaho have been married for 4 years already. Suddenly, Kaho died in an accident, leaving Len with their 3-year old daughter, Aki. But then, 2 years after her death, a new music teacher shows up in Aki's pre-school. What's even more strange is that little Aki keeps calling her "Mommy."

Disclaimer: I don't own La Corda d'Oro. *sniff*

* * *

Len watched in horror as the building was engulfed in flames. The people who managed to evacuate were immediately rushed to the hospital, or were being checked in the ambulances. But not Len. He refused any medic's assistance. He had to find her. He searched through all the ambulances, hoping and praying that he'd spot the red hair from a distance. But she was nowhere to be seen.

He began to run towards the burning hotel, only to be held back by a fireman.

"Sir! You can't go in there! Are you insane?" The fireman held Len by the shoulders and gave him a shake.

Frantic, he began to push at the fireman. "My wife… She's still in there! I need to get her out of there!"

"We're doing everything we can, sir. We've rescued around 50 people already. We've yet to find other survivors, but I can assure you that we'll do our best."

"You don't understand! She's still in there! I need to see her! I need to see that she's okay," Len said as he watched some of the building's walls crumble. There was a sick feeling crawling in his stomach. He didn't want to acknowledge that feeling. He refused to.

Only then did the rest of the building's walls fall. He heard people's screams and gasps as they watched the disaster unfold. Eyes widening in shock and despair, he pushed his hardest against the fireman, only to be restrained by two more.

"KAHO!"

* * *

"Sir? Tsukimori-sama?"

Len opened his eyes. Turning towards the voice, he saw his secretary looking at him with worried eyes.

"Are you alright, Tsukimori-sama? Is the air conditioner too warm? You're sweating really hard," she said, clutching her clipboard tightly.

"What? Really?" Len lifted a hand to his forehead, pulling it away instantly the moment he felt his hand go wet from the perspiration. Reaching for his handkerchief in his pocket, he looked at the middle-aged woman in front of his desk. "What brings you here, Yanagi-san?"

"I heard you shouting from the other room. I went in to see if you were okay. Are you?"

Running a hand through his blue hair, he sighed. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I guess I fell asleep again."

She tilted her head, a worried look plastered on her face. "Third time this month. Lucky for you, CEO's don't get reprimanded when sleeping on the job. Unless, of course, if it's your mother who catches you," she said, raising her eyebrow while smiling.

With a small chuckle, Len began to put things in his briefcase. "Mother's too busy babysitting Aki to check up on me. Hell, I'm sure she'd enjoy spoiling her grandchild more than going all the way here to see if the company's still running."

"Which you're doing so well, so we've nothing to worry about," Yanagi gave him a motherly smile. "I guess you'll be heading home now?"

"Yeah, I need to rest my head." Closing his briefcase, Len stood up and headed for the door. He stopped at the doorway and turned to Yanagi. "Thanks for waking me up, Yanagi-san. I'll see you tomorrow," he said with a small smile. With that, he disappeared.

Shaking her head, Yanagi sighed. "Poor Tsukimori-sama."

* * *

"Daddy!"

Len smiled as he watched his five-year old daughter dash across the room towards him. Setting his briefcase down, he opened his arms and caught her in an embrace, then lifted her up. "Hi, honey."

"Hi, daddy! Welcome home!" Tsukimori Aki flashed a smile at her father. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"It's good to be home. Where's your grandmother?" He began to walk towards the kitchen with Aki in his arms. As he passed the living room, he noticed some crayons on the floor, as well as coloring books opened on the table. Also, there were some smudge marks on the table itself.

"Grandma's preparing dinner. She said she'd have to do it before you come home so you won't have to cook. Look! She tied my hair with those blue ponytails you got me." Aki pulled at her pigtails. Her hair was red, pretty much the same shade as her mother's, but her golden eyes reflected that of her father's, sometimes filled with mischief. Len guessed it probably came from her mother too.

"Ah, Len! You're back," Hamai Misa's head poked through to doorway of the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes."

"Hello, mother," Len leaned down to kiss his mother's cheek. "I see you've been busy coloring our table pink and yellow during the afternoon."

"Aki still hasn't gotten used to coloring within the lines, but she's getting there. Aren't you, pumpkin?" She lightly pinched her granddaughter's cheek, emitting a giggle. Smiling, she looked at her son. "Why don't you change while I set the table? I'll let Aki help. You look really tired."

"Alright," he set his daughter on the floor. Leaning down, he kissed the top of her head. "Go on, help your grandmother."

"Okay! See you in a while, daddy!" Aki disappeared into the kitchen.

Len climbed up the stairs of their two-story house. It was as big as the one he lived in when he was younger, only this time there was a backyard. As he made his way to the bedroom, he took a glimpse out the window. There was a full moon tonight. Its light was bright enough for Len to see the swing set he and Kahoko had bought for Aki when she was a year old.

As he opened the door to the bedroom, he began to take off his coat. Opening the light, he dropped the coat on the nearby lazy boy. He unbuttoned his shirt, then looked at the picture frame on the bedside table. It was a picture of him and Kahoko during their wedding. It was a beautiful candid shot. The camera had focused on half of their bodies. They were about to cut their violin-shaped wedding cake, so their hands held the knife. Their faces were mere inches apart, and they were both smiling at each other, as if they were sharing a secret.

He remembered that day so well. How could he not? It was, after all, their wedding. He even remembered what they had whispered each other before cutting that cake.

"_But it looks so pretty! I've never seen anything like it," Kahoko said as she turned to him with the knife._

_Feeling a wave of tenderness and love wash over him, Len wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her closer to him. "It's tradition for the newlyweds to cut their cake. Besides, what's the point of making one when you're not going to eat it?"_

"_Well, I don't want to cut it. You do it."_

_Leaning a bit forward, he let his nose kiss hers. "No, we have to do it together," he whispered._

"_But it's going to make me feel bad! I don't want to destroy such a beautiful cake," she whispered back._

"_Tell you what, we'll have another one made for our first year anniversary. With actual strings. Deal?"_

_She laughed and gave him a chaste kiss. "Deal."_

Memories of his dream earlier came rushing back. He plopped down on the bed and brought his arm to his forehead. It had been two years since the fire. Admittedly, he still hasn't moved on. It's been hard living without Kaho. His attitude began to change ever since she entered his life, which was during their highschool days. He'd become more open and kinder. His music sounded better and seemed to have more meaning to it. He even developed a sense of humor, something Tsuchiura had pointed out. Because of Kaho's presence in his life, he'd felt like he'd been reborn as a new person. And he loved it. He loved having her around. He loved her.

And so, after graduating college at the age of twenty-four, he proposed to her. She'd been thrilled and immediately said yes. And after that, they happily lived their lives together. Aki was born after their first year of marriage. Len thought he was the luckiest man on earth. He had a wonderful career as the CEO of his family's company. At the same time, he continued to go on tours where he performed and played his violin. He had the most beautiful, supporting and loving wife, who would sometimes perform alongside him. He had an adorable daughter, one he just _knew _would be the spitting image of her mother in the future. He had everything he never thought he could dream of having, and life was perfect.

But then, nothing was ever perfect.

"I miss you so much, Kaho. I really wish you were still here."

* * *

So… What'd you think? Please R&R! Thank yoooouuuuu.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello! I'm back with chapter 2. Truth be told, I'm really busy right now, but I can't seem to get this story out of my head. It's like I _need_ to let it out. LOL. Anyway, hope you enjoy this one! Don't forget to review!

Disclaimer: I don't own La Corda D'Oro

* * *

"You think we should wake him up, Grandma?"

"Let's let him sleep. I think he's had a rough day."

"But he hasn't eaten yet," Aki pouted and went to her father's side, ready to wake him up.

Misa quickly but gently took her granddaughter's arm. "Sweetie, let your father sleep. I don't think he's in the mood to eat dinner either."

Reluctantly, Aki nodded and let her grandmother pull her towards the door. Len barely felt the blanket being pulled up to his chest. He hardly even felt his daughter's chaste kiss on his cheek before whispering: "Good night, daddy. Sweet dreams!"

With that, his mother and daughter closed the bedroom door.

* * *

"What do you mean she already left for school?"

Len watched his mother stack the plates in the dishwasher. He was standing at the doorway, his hair still dripping wet from his shower while a towel was draped around his neck. He woke up to the sound of a car driving off. Groggily checking the time on the clock at the bedside table, he cursed under his breath and rushed to the bathroom. He'd promised Aki that he'd take her to school that day. It was, after all, her first day back in school. But then he'd found out that his mother had already instructed the driver to bring her.

"You were still asleep. We didn't want to wake you," came Misa's reply.

"But I _promised_ her, mother. I never break my promises, let alone to my own daughter," Len said as he moved to sit on one of the chairs in the dining room. He sighed, running his hand through his cerulean hair.

"You're stressing yourself too much, Len. It's just one day. You can take her tomorrow. I'm sure he understands," Misa said as she took a seat across from him. They were silent for a moment. Misa took this time to observe her son.

"Are you alright? Has work been bothering you?" she asked.

"Work's fine. I've just been… preoccupied with other stuff," Len replied. He already had an idea where this conversation was going, and he didn't want to talk about it. He stood up, only to be stopped by the look on his mother's face.

"Sit, boy. I don't believe I've finished talking to you yet," Misa said sternly. Once Len sat again, she brought her hands to the table and placed one over the other. "Something's bothering you."

"Mother, it's fine. Maybe I am a bit stressed out with work-"

"Don't underestimate me, Len. A mother knows when her son's troubled. And once she does, she wants to help him in any way possible. Tell me what's been on your mind."

Len gave up. There was no escape. "I recently had a dream, about that night."

_Ahh. _"Alright, go on."

"I miss her, mom." Len was suddenly overcome by grief and placed is head in his hands. "Sometimes I don't know if I'm doing the right thing for Aki. I mean, she's all I have left, and I'd do anything for her. But sometimes I doubt myself, if I'm being a good father. I just wish she was here. She'd know what to do. She was always the better parent."

Misa reached out, placed a hand over his. "We all know she was a wonderful mother. And don't think you haven't done your job as a father. You're an exceptional father, Len. I know you're doing your best. Though there's no such thing as perfect parents, Aki is blessed to have you both as hers."

He looked up and saw his mother, a gentle smile plastered on her face. He gave back a small smile of his own. "And I'm lucky to have you as mine. Thank you, mother."

* * *

Aki was excited for her next subject. Though she never liked to brag, she knew how to play some instruments. Music, as told by her grandmother, had always run in their family. Her grandfather was a virtuoso, her grandmother was a pianist, her father was a professional violinist, and her mother…

She shook her head. She didn't want to remember her mommy now. She's just end up feeling sad, and she didn't want that to spoil her first day back in school. Besides, she was sure her mommy was watching from heaven. That's what daddy always told her.

She hurried to her seat and took out a piece of paper from her bag. Before she could even start drawing, she heard her classmates rush back into the classroom and take their seats. The teacher was here! Aki shoved the paper back in her bag, eager to meet her new Music teacher.

As she walked into the classroom, the children fell silent.

"Good morning, class. My name is Hino Kahoko, and I'm going to be your new Music teacher."

Aki's eyes widened. She looked so familiar. The red hair that was once until her back was now all the way until above her waist. Her eyes reflected cheerfulness and eagerness to teach. And her smile… she knew that smile.

"Mommy?"

* * *

Ah, well. There we go. Obviously I'm not one for long chapters. Maybe if I actually have the time I'll make it longer. But anyway... Kaho's not dead! Woopee! Stay tuned for the next chapter! And don't forget to review. ^_^


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